


meditate on meanings

by Shinkirou



Category: Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Developing Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-06
Updated: 2013-05-06
Packaged: 2017-12-10 13:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/786602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinkirou/pseuds/Shinkirou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>strength comes in many different forms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	meditate on meanings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



> You can do both FFX and X-2 or just one. It doesn't matter to me. Yuna/Lightning - I have often felt that the personality of these two women could lead to a great relationship. Both are so strong in their own ways. I do like Tidus, he is one of my favorite male leads, but I don't care for Tidus/Yuna. That being said, I would prefer his effect on her life not be ignored. I am fine if you want to do this as a traditional crossover, fusion, AU, making everyone students at SeeD, whatever.

Yuna knows she isn't the physically strongest. Of course she isn't the weakest, either - going through the trails of the pilgrimage could take a lot out of a body, especially if one wasn't properly prepared. But what she lacked in physical strength she liked to think she more than made up for in spiritual and emotional. Her friends - the people she loved and depended and trusted - could rely on her, she hoped, the way that she relied on them. A shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, whatever they needed, Yuna wanted to be. They'd been there for her, and if she could spend the rest of her life paying them back, she would be more than happy to do it. That had been what being a summoner was all about, after all: protecting those she loved, as well as those she didn't even know. A beacon of hope for those who couldn't see the light themselves. Nothing made her happier than seeing people happy. 

Sometimes, however, she did envy the physical strength that most of her friends seemed to have. She wasn't bitter about it, of course; it was more like a simple musing of "what would it be like"? Now that she didn't have her Aeons anymore - had traded them for peace across the land, a trade she never regretted - sometimes she wondered what would happen if another threat emerged. Would she be strong enough to support her friends? 

So at first when she met Lightning, she was quite amazed. It was only shortly after the time that Tidus disappeared, so at first Yuna hadn't really even been able to focus on anyone outside her guardians. Ex-guardians, she supposed. Some of them had already returned to their homes, or even just went on new adventures. Rikku had stayed more or less with her, sometimes wandering off to go talk to random people, or even just searching out things for them to do. It was one of such days that Rikku had dragged a pink haired girl over to Yuna, introducing her as Lightning.

Somehow even before seeing her fight, Yuna could just tell that she was a woman of amazing talent and strength. Even her personality, which was stern but not unwilling to talk, showed that. Or perhaps Rikku had simply pestered her into talking. It didn't really matter. Lightning was quite beautiful, but even her beauty seemed almost dangerous - like a poisonous flower or something. Lovely to look at, but dangerous to get close to.

That didn't stop Yuna from doing exactly that. Rikku took another mini-vacation after getting Lightning's assurance that she would stay with Yuna. Their conversations hadn't been particularly lengthy, and sometimes Yuna found herself almost rambling, but somehow it seemed like Lightning didn't mind. Perhaps she'd lost someone important of her own. Yuna wouldn't pressure her into talking, but sometimes Lightning would offer up tidbits about herself without prompting. Yuna was always sure to listen attentively. Lightning had some sort of otherworldly melancholy about her, and while Yuna wasn't sure she could do anything to help, she wanted to try. 

Even though they'd just barely met, Yuna felt a real connection with Lightning. Perhaps not the same as the way she had with her guardians, but it felt similar - the potential for trust to blossom, and friendship to grow between them. They could overcome their losses together and use it to make them stronger. Sadness formed a deep sort of bond, one felt on the soul, because knowing someone out there was going through the same thing as you always made you feel a little less alone, even if you'd just lost someone you cared deeply about.

Things settled into an easy friendship between them. Lightning never really grew overly talkative, though she did begin to speak more, but Yuna knew it wasn't for lack of interest. Perhaps one of Lightning's weaknesses was with words. She did seem to be rather like an embodiment of the phrase "actions speak louder than words", and when it came to fighting, Lightning was all elegant prose and fluid poetry. Yuna loved watching her. It didn't seem to matter the enemy - Lightning never so much as flinched away from a fight. Yuna thought she was terribly brave.

Eventually they swapped stories. Who they were, how they came to be there.

Eventually Yuna found out that Lightning was looking for her sister, Serah. 

Yuna had cried on Lightning's behalf. Lightning had been so caught off guard, she began to apologize, but Yuna waved it away. "You're just so strong. Here I've been wandering around aimlessly, feeling lost now that I don't have a defined purpose, and then there's you who has every reason to get upset and cry and scream and you just keep moving and deal with it all. I really admire that."

Lightning shook her head. "No, you're the strong one. You've been helping people in need as you go, right? You haven't let the fact that you've saved your world sway your conviction to make it a better place, as well. You also still have your emotions. It can be hard to hold on to things like that when the world is out to get you. Just because you aren't used to fighting doesn't mean you're any less strong than I am. Strength can come in many different forms. I admire your ability to stay true to what you believe in."

Yuna smiled and dried her tears and laughed. "Well, we're both strong, then." Lightning smiled lightly and nodded.

After that, they'd been a little more open with each other. Yuna found herself thinking that she had to thank Rikku profusely the next time she saw her. Someone like Lightning was exactly what she needed at that moment. She would always want to be her friends' emotional support, but knowing that she now had someone who could relate on an even more personal note was freeing. Certainly, Wakka had lost his brother, but he wasn't the same, somehow. Yuna loved all her guardians dearly, and never wanted to see any of them hurt, but they just couldn't quite relate to the pain she was going through. Oh, they'd tried, and she knew any of them would be there for her at a moment's notice, but having someone else who knew all that and refused to let her succumb to it other than when she absolutely needed to was lovely.

Some people would certainly have called Lightning emotionless, like the perfect soldier, but Yuna knew that wasn't true. Lightning had all the qualities of a leader, and a strong emotional conviction as well. She was exactly the type of person who could be relied on to keep her friends safe, and Yuna knew that that fact must have made the loss of her sister hurt all the more. Why wouldn't she stay? Had she not trusted Lightning to keep her safe? Such doubts would likely have run through Lightning's mind at some point.

Yuna eventually told her that there was no way any of that was true. That Sarah loved her and would be overjoyed to see her again, that Serah was certainly missing Lightning just as much as the reverse. That there was still time to work things out, that she trusted Lightning would find her sister and everything would be okay again.

Lightning hadn't said anything, only reached out to grab Yuna's hand, and it felt more precious than all the physical strength in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> I intended for this to be more shippy... I'm sorry, Vampire, and hope you enjoyed it anyway.


End file.
